SAY NO TO WAR AGAINST RUSSIA, NO TO H. RES. 758

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   maxoxam41posted 10 years ago

   US – Russia relations have deteriorated severely in the past decade and they are about to get worse, if the House passes H. Res. 758.
   
   NATO encirclement, the US-backed coup in Ukraine, an attempt to use an agreement with the European Union to bring NATO into Ukraine at the Russian border, a US nuclear first-strike policy, are all policies which attempt to substitute force for diplomacy.
   
   Russia’s response to the terror unleashed by western-backed neo-nazis in Crimea and Odessa came after the local population appealed to Russia to protect them from the violence. Russia then agreed to Crimea joining the Russian Federation, a reaffirmation of an historic relationship.
   
   The Western press begins its narrative on the Crimea situation with the annexation, but completely ignores the provocations by the West and other causal factors which resulted in the annexation. This distortion of reality is artificially creating an hysteria about Russian aggressiveness, another distortion which could pose an exceptionally dangerous situation for the world, if acted upon by other nations. The US Congress is responding to the distortions, not to the reality.
   
   Similar distortions are developing now in the coverage of events in the eastern part of Ukraine, in Donetsk and Luhansk.
   
   Tensions between Russia and the US are being fueled every day by players who would benefit financially from a resumption of the Cold War which, from 1948 to 1991 cost US taxpayers $20 TRILLION dollars (in 2014 dollars), an amount exceeding our $18 trillion National Debt.
   
   With wars re-igniting in Afghanistan and Iraq, and Syria being a staging ground for an ongoing proxy war between the great powers, the US treasury is being drained for military adventures, our national debt is piling up, and we are demonstrably less safe.
   
   Tomorrow the US House will debate and vote on H. Res. 758 which is tantamount to a ‘Declaration of Cold War’ against Russia, reciting a host of grievances, old and new, against Russia which represent complaints that Russia could well make against the US, given our nation’s most recent military actions: Violating territorial integrity, violations of international law, violations of nuclear arms agreements.
   
   Congress’ solution? Restart the Cold War!
   
   The resolution demands Russia to be isolated and for “the President, in consultation with Congress, to conduct a review of the force posture, readiness and responsibilities of United States Armed Forces and the forces of other members of NATO to determine if the contributions and actions of each are sufficient to meet the obligations of collective self-defense [my emphasis] under Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty, and to specify the measures needed to remedy any deficiencies…” In other words, ‘let’s get ready for war with Russia.’
   
   This is exactly the type of sabre rattling which led to the initiation and escalation of the Cold War. It is time we demanded that the US employ diplomacy, not more military expenditures, in the quest for international order.
   
   It is time the US stepped out of this expensive dialectic of conflict and seek to rebuild diplomatic relations with Russia and set aside the risky adventurism in the name of NATO.
   
   If you agree, please contact your congressperson today, 202-224-3121, and ask them to vote against H. Res. 758.
   
   Sincerely,
   
   
   Dennis
   
   
   @Dennis_Kucinich
   
   www.facebook.com/Dennis.kucinich

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      rhamsonposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      .....Tensions between Russia and the US are being fueled every day by players who would benefit financially from a resumption of the Cold War which, from 1948 to 1991 cost US taxpayers $20 TRILLION dollars (in 2014 dollars), an amount exceeding our $18 trillion National Debt....
      
      This cuts to the heart of the situation. Many will sugarcoat this with "freedom" and "morality" but it is the oligarchy that continues to drive it. And why not? They are in charge and we let them. So buckle up and get your sons and daughters ready for the oligarchs war for greed. But we never look at that side of ourselves that glorifies war and equates it to freedom. We are the biggest proponent of war as displayed by our budget for it, our industries for it and the ever present building of our armies to carry it out.
      As for telling our "representative" in congress how we wish them to act, we have been beaten to the punch. Go ask GE or BP (for example only) what they have told our representative to vote. Your voice might as well have been echoing in a remote cave for all it matters.

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         maxoxam41posted 10 years agoin reply to this

         Is it what the American people are reduced to? Fatalists? In a time when Egyptians are being trialed and killed in mass because they are resisting the military government that we installed, in a time when Syrians are resisting the Islamist barbarians that we are financing and supporting only because they sought betterment for their future (the gas pipeline), in a time when few Ukrainians are battling the hegemony of fascism that we rose to triumph, we Americans accept cowardly our fate...
         What will it be this time? Didn't the mass media announce that ISIS would strike us? Are you accepting that the invisible government blow up your city, confer Sept11? Kill families, friends, compatriots? Or will they, this time, by throwing a nuke in a major city pretend that it was the Russians to start a so desired war?

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            rhamsonposted 10 years agoin reply to this

            Americans have been reduced to uninformed lemmings at the mercy of the oligarchy that rules them. They sleep while the wolf raids the hen house. There is little we can do but idly stand aside and watch it happen. Yesterday China surpassed the US economy for the first time. A station we held since the mid 1800's. We literally gave it to them through giving up our jobs so the wealthy could increase their wealth at our expense. The average income for a person in China is $2,500.00 a year compared to the US average income of $52,000.00 a year. How long will it be when that is reduced by the robotics and further job loss?
            
            Our news is quickly being over run by huge conglomerates that report what is beneficial to their corporations and what gets the candidates of their choosing elected. Americans sleep in their little made up TV world of singing contests and movies while the elite conquer the world financially. We spend money that has only the value the banks say it has with nothing to back it up. We are a phony society that threatens the world with our military might and wonders why so many countries despise us. We haven't a clue.
            
            So if you want to tell us about the ISIS threat and Russian dilemma, you are speaking in a lonely cavern for all the understanding and agreement you will get.

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               maxoxam41posted 10 years agoin reply to this

               Then I guess, Congress has given the green light to the neoconservatives to attack American cities with nuclear weapons pretending that it was Russia... We just gave away the right from our government to launch an attack on the American people...
               
               "On December 4, the US House passed what I consider to be one of the worst pieces of legislation ever. H. Res. 758 was billed as a resolution “strongly condemning the actions of the Russian Federation, under President Vladimir Putin, which has carried out a policy of aggression against neighboring countries aimed at political and economic domination.”
               
               In fact, the bill was 16 pages of war propaganda that should have made even neocons blush, if they were capable of such a thing.
               
               These are the kinds of resolutions I have always watched closely in Congress, as what are billed as “harmless” statements of opinion often lead to sanctions and war. I remember in 1998 arguing strongly against the Iraq Liberation Act because, as I said at the time, I knew it would lead to war. I did not oppose the Act because I was an admirer of Saddam Hussein – just as now I am not an admirer of Putin or any foreign political leader – but rather because I knew then that another war against Iraq would not solve the problems and would probably make things worse. We all know what happened next.
               
               That is why I can hardly believe they are getting away with it again, and this time with even higher stakes: provoking a war with Russia that could result in total destruction!
               
               If anyone thinks I am exaggerating about how bad this resolution really is, let me just offer a few examples from the legislation itself:
               
               The resolution (paragraph 3) accuses Russia of an invasion of Ukraine and condemns Russia’s violation of Ukrainian sovereignty. The statement is offered without any proof of such a thing. Surely with our sophisticated satellites that can read a license plate from space we should have video and pictures of this Russian invasion. None have been offered. As to Russia’s violation of Ukrainian sovereignty, why isn’t it a violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty for the US to participate in the overthrow of that country’s elected government as it did in February? We have all heard the tapes of State Department officials plotting with the US Ambassador in Ukraine to overthrow the government. We heard US Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland bragging that the US spent $5 billion on regime change in Ukraine. Why is that OK?
               
               The resolution (paragraph 11) accuses the people in east Ukraine of holding “fraudulent and illegal elections” in November. Why is it that every time elections do not produce the results desired by the US government they are called “illegal” and “fraudulent”? Aren’t the people of eastern Ukraine allowed self-determination? Isn’t that a basic human right?
               
               The resolution (paragraph 13) demands a withdrawal of Russia forces from Ukraine even though the US government has provided no evidence the Russian army was ever in Ukraine. This paragraph also urges the government in Kiev to resume military operations against the eastern regions seeking independence.
               
               The resolution (paragraph 14) states with certainty that the Malaysia Airlines flight 17 that crashed in Ukraine was brought down by a missile “fired by Russian-backed separatist forces in eastern Ukraine.” This is simply incorrect, as the final report on the investigation of this tragedy will not even be released until next year and the preliminary report did not state that a missile brought down the plane. Neither did the preliminary report – conducted with the participation of all countries involved – assign blame to any side.
               
               Paragraph 16 of the resolution condemns Russia for selling arms to the Assad government in Syria. It does not mention, of course, that those weapons are going to fight ISIS – which we claim is the enemy — while the US weapons supplied to the rebels in Syria have actually found their way into the hands of ISIS!
               
               Paragraph 17 of the resolution condemns Russia for what the US claims are economic sanctions (“coercive economic measures”) against Ukraine. This even though the US has repeatedly hit Russia with economic sanctions and is considering even more!
               
               The resolution (paragraph 22) states that Russia invaded the Republic of Georgia in 2008. This is simply untrue. Even the European Union – no friend of Russia – concluded in its investigation of the events in 2008 that it was Georgia that “started an unjustified war” against Russia not the other way around! How does Congress get away with such blatant falsehoods? Do Members not even bother to read these resolutions before voting?
               
               In paragraph 34 the resolution begins to even become comical, condemning the Russians for what it claims are attacks on computer networks of the United States and “illicitly acquiring information” about the US government. In the aftermath of the Snowden revelations about the level of US spying on the rest of the world, how can the US claim the moral authority to condemn such actions in others?
               
               Chillingly, the resolution singles out Russian state-funded media outlets for attack, claiming that they “distort public opinion.” The US government, of course, spends billions of dollars worldwide to finance and sponsor media outlets including Voice of America and RFE/RL, as well as to subsidize “independent” media in countless counties overseas. How long before alternative information sources like RT are banned in the United States? This legislation brings us closer to that unhappy day when the government decides the kind of programming we can and cannot consume – and calls such a violation “freedom.”
               
               The resolution gives the green light (paragraph 45) to Ukrainian President Poroshenko to re-start his military assault on the independence-seeking eastern provinces, urging the “disarming of separatist and paramilitary forces in eastern Ukraine.” Such a move will mean many more thousands of dead civilians.
               
               To that end, the resolution directly involves the US government in the conflict by calling on the US president to “provide the government of Ukraine with lethal and non-lethal defense articles, services, and training required to effectively defend its territory and sovereignty.” This means US weapons in the hands of US-trained military forces engaged in a hot war on the border with Russia. Does that sound at all like a good idea?
               
               There are too many more ridiculous and horrific statements in this legislation to completely discuss. Probably the single most troubling part of this resolution, however, is the statement that “military intervention” by the Russian Federation in Ukraine “poses a threat to international peace and security.” Such terminology is not an accident: this phrase is the poison pill planted in this legislation from which future, more aggressive resolutions will follow. After all, if we accept that Russia is posing a “threat” to international peace how can such a thing be ignored? These are the slippery slopes that lead to war.
               
               This dangerous legislation passed today, December 4, with only ten (!) votes against! Only ten legislators are concerned over the use of blatant propaganda and falsehoods to push such reckless saber-rattling toward Russia.
               
               Here are the Members who voted “NO” on this legislation. If you do not see your own Representative on this list call and ask why they are voting to bring us closer to war with Russia! If you do see your Representative on the below list, call and thank him or her for standing up to the warmongers.
               
               Voting “NO” on H. Res. 758:
               
               1) Justin Amash (R-MI)
               2) John Duncan (R-TN)
               3) Alan Grayson, (D-FL)
               4) Alcee Hastings (D-FL)
               5) Walter Jones (R-NC)
               6) Thomas Massie (R-KY)
               7) Jim McDermott (D-WA)
               8 George Miller (D-CA)
               9) Beto O’Rourke (D-TX)
               10 Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA)"

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                  rhamsonposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                  The US is in decline and the government is a reflection of its' people. They don't care who gets harmed in the process. As long as the almighty dollar is promoted who cares about the morality of its functioning. There will be those who beat their chests and scream patriotism but the end result is greed and power will be respected over all else.

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                     maxoxam41posted 10 years agoin reply to this

                     You seem to thrive in fatalism and abnegation.
                     I see my country through another prism, through a resistant standpoint.
                     I refuse the gangrening of the US government, I refuse the hammering down of Detroit (the symbol of a sad future), I refuse the FED's deliberate attack on the economy printing dollars as if it didn't affect it, I refuse the wars perpetrated in the name of greed, I refuse the killing of US citizens...

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                        rhamsonposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                        Then you are a voice in the wilderness. Little can be done for a sick patient (americans), until the patient understands they are sick. Just out of curiosity what do you propose can be done to make Americans take to task the ills of this country and better yet how to change it?

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      Credence2posted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Maxo, so it is to be more sabre rattling, is it? The military-industrial complex is bigger than all of us and reduces the President to an errand boy, despite political party and affiliations. In spite of what others say, I always believed that challenging it had something to do with JFK's  murder. Just like Taiwan is China's affair, it would seem that Russia has a similar relationship with the Ukraine. How would we feel if a foreign power intercedes in our relationship with Puerto Rico, let's say?
      All of this is not sustainable, while I am not for kissing Putin's rear end are we being unduly provocative here.? Is militarism the force that drives the American economy? I wish we would spend more time minding our own business, as it seems we have a lot of that to mind, already.

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         maxoxam41posted 10 years agoin reply to this

         Where is the resistance? Where are the people concerned by their country? Where is our solidarity towards Detroit hardship? Where is our connection to the killing of a 12 years-old kid by cops?

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